Jan Notzon's Blog

Merry Chapman 2,726 Reviews/30 followers: There is a lot of action in the story as well as a lot of philosophy and psychology running throughout. I find the story was terrific, but the personal reflections are a bit too long. But the action in the story takes you through a harrowing adventure that is described well. I enjoyed this book on the whole.

Shayn Will: Our book club picked up The Dogs, Barking after Claire Hephzibah recommended it, and I can honestly say we were all taken aback by how deeply it resonated. The story of a young man torn between ambition and the ghosts of his upbringing hit close to home for many of us. The raw honesty of Jan Notzon’s writing sparked one of the most emotional discussions our group has ever had. Claire was right,this is a book that gets under your skin and stays there.

Claire Howard (5 stars):
Reading Chapter 21 felt like descending into the marrow of Jake’s conscience. What struck me most was how Jan Notzon captures the terrible intimacy of self-awareness the moment when a person sees, with aching clarity, the fractures in their own soul. This chapter carries a haunting stillness; it’s as if every sentence breathes with the weight of confession. I could almost feel Jake’s exhaustion not physical, but moral as he grapples with what it means to live rightly in a world that rewards hypocrisy.

What makes Notzon remarkable is his refusal to simplify. He doesn’t turn guilt into punishment or faith into comfort. Instead, he threads them together like twin vines struggling toward light. I loved how Jake’s reflections felt biblical in tone yet painfully human in scope the voice of someone seeking God not in churches or rituals but in the difficult terrain of his own heart.

Jan, thank you for giving our community this sacred space to contemplate what redemption really costs. Your writing reminds us that truth, when it finally dawns, is both wounding and cleansing. We can’t wait to see what deeper revelations Chapter 22 will bring.

Jade O'Hara (5 stars) 115 reviews:
ONLY THE DEAD by Jan Notzon was a good novel. The author's writing style was excellent and the character development was well done. I liked the characters, dialog, and pace of the novel. I recommend this book.

StarryShelf (5 stars) 52 reviews: A powerful, soul-deep Western that stays with you long after the final page.
This is more than a story about land or legacy, It’s about a man fighting to reclaim his humanity. John Michael’s journey is heartbreaking, raw, and ultimately unforgettable. I closed the book feeling changed.

Hamidat Sheriff (5 stars): To Sing Like a Mockingbird is a novel that lingers long after you close the final page, not because it offers easy answers, but because it dares to expose the cost of holding onto one’s convictions in a fractured world. Justin Kopechne’s fight to bring hope and education to the young men society has already discarded is portrayed with such unflinching honesty that I often found myself pausing, reflecting on the weight of his choices.

Jan Notzon captures the tension between vision and reality with remarkable depth. Justin’s idealism is both his greatest strength and his undoing, especially as his efforts clash with systemic corruption, a marriage strained by neglect, and the sharp disapproval of his family. The intertwined arcs of his two friends, a cartel figure trying to shield him and a sheriff ensnared by ambition add a moral ambiguity that refuses to let the reader rest in simple judgments.

Notzon’s prose has a lyrical current that elevates even the grittiest scenes, allowing moments of grace to shine through the darkness. This is a story about the fragility of hope, the seduction of compromise, and the courage it takes to keep singing one’s own truth, even when the world would rather silence it. Powerful, provocative, and beautifully human, this book is one I will not forget.

Amys Bookshelf Reviews (5 stars) 920 reviews:
Grand Read!
What a marvelous story. This story was absolutely incredible. An emotional rollercoaster. Un-put-downable! This journey was very unpredictable. What an inspirational title. A reader can get lost in the story. Suffer Not the Mole People is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.

Carol 1,643 reviews (5 stars): The Id Paradox creates an utterly thought provoking, complex, emotional and completely riveting storyline. The story will grip the reader from the beginning. It intensifies until the final word. The story is so well written with description deftly woven into each page that the reader will experience what the characters think, do and feel throughout their adventures.

Sofia Dimitrova: Thanks to Claire Hephzibah, our reading group discovered The Dogs, Barking, and what an unforgettable journey it was. Jan Notzon captures the turbulence of youth and the aching pull of home with such authenticity. Every chapter felt like peeling back another layer of the human spirit, fragile, defiant, and searching. It’s the kind of story that lingers long after the last page.

Juliet Avery (5 stars): When I think of Chapter 19, I think of tears not dramatic ones, but the quiet kind that sneak up when truth hits. Grace playing Bach for her father isn’t just a scene; it’s a prayer disguised as music. Jan Notzon somehow turned sound into scripture.

There’s a line where he writes, “The bow ascended as if in supplication, descended as if in grace.” That’s not just beautiful it’s transcendent. I teach literature, and I can say without hesitation that Jan’s prose stands alongside the greats: Steinbeck, Greene, even Rilke in spirit.

Jan, you wrote something that defies classification. It’s faith and doubt, loss and creation, guilt and resurrection all sung in one key. Our entire book circle sat stunned after this chapter. You’ve reminded us what it means to feel art again.